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| 09-19-69 - The Search
for Hostage Penny
09-27-69 - Crew Chief for LtCol. Dunbaugh's 2nd DFC 10-06-69 - Crew Chief for LtCol. Dunbaugh's 3rd DFC 01-29-70 - Crew Chief
for Lt. H. B. Lamb's 2nd SMAM
Butch served in Vietnam first with HMM-265 in 67-68 and again with HMM-364 in 69-70. Butch retired from the Marine Corps and had lived in Canberra, Australia for the past 15 years. He and his wife had come to Reno to attend a reunion of HMM-265 and died of a heart attack the morning of 26 June 2003 the day the reunion was to begin at the Atlantis Hotel. His daughter, Patti Brown, relates, "He was very young, only 57, it was a shock to all of us. He had been awarded three Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star, and the list goes on. After Vietnam he served in many US Embassies around the world Beirut, Bonn, etc. Then was a Drill Instructor at Camp Pendleton before retiring." "I live in Paris and was unable to get there until Saturday the 28th of June. I truly wish to thank all the former Marines of HMM-265 for the support they gave my step mother, his wife. She was surrounded by Marines, all with a story to tell about my father. I especially thank Gary Martin and Bill Gray for taking control and helping my step mother contact other family members and, in general taking control arranging all the details." Butch was originally from Belton, Texas and was laid
to rest in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio on July
3, 2003. Patti said, "Thank God for the Marines in the San Antonio
area, they were of great comfort at the memorial service.
Sgt. ("don't call me Marvin!") Butch Brown was a section leader, and ran the Recovery Crew during most of '69. I took the latter over when he left. Good guy- he had been in the Marine Band, re-enlisted for aviation training. He was 4-5 years older than most of us, a real solid anchor. Gary Rogers, former Sgt. USMC
I remember (then) Sgt. Brown from Vietnam and later in Okinawa in '75. Besides being an outstanding Marine and a great crew chief, he had a peculiar talent for chewing off the top of a beer can (the old heavier kind). He would chew around the rim of the lid, then pull the entire top off of the can using only his teeth. Finally. he would down the can in one huge gulp. All this without spilling a single drop! He usually entertained the officers with this feat during bosses' night and picnics. Charles J. "Chic" Schoener, Colonel USMC (Ret) |
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